Paper Flowers
by Flickerswift
Summary: What if Pein lost the battle with Jiraiya? What if the rest of the Akatsuki was killed? What if somehow Pein managed to escape, half way to death? And if he lived, he would turn over a new leaf. What does a girl with no name have to do with this? PeinXOC
1. Prolouge

Authors note: This story is one of those what if? stories. What if Pein lost to Jiraiya?  
What if the rest of the Akatsuki were killed by the back up teams? What if Pein somehow got away, on the brink of death? Oh and if you haven't gotten it yet, this does not follow story line...

Disclaimer: I do not own any Naruto characters. You should know that. If I did own them, I wouldn't be writing a FAN fiction. Right?

* * *

Pein stumbled through the Rain Village. All he wanted was world peace. The villagers looked at their God, worried. Where was his blue haired angel? And why did it look like their God had been mauled in the last day? What demon had done this? But their orange haired God ignored them and kept walking. He had to get away, before they found him. He was bound to die anyway. But he wanted to die by his own hands, not theirs. They had taken all of them away. Kakuzu, Hidan (Well... They buried him but still, he was gone), Itachi, Kisame, Tobi, and they even killed her, his angel, Konan. For the first time in years, tears rolled down Pein's cheeks. He only found one thing of Konan's. The paper flower that was always in her hair. How he loved that flower. How he loved her. And they had took her away. Or that ANBU did at least. If he ever lived past the next few days, Pein made a mental note to track and killed that ANBU agent. Just that one ANBU. Not the others. It was time to turn over a new leaf, if he lived. Instead of using tailed beasts to command world peace, he would try to make the world a better place. Sure people might recognize him. He could get rid of a few piercings, and try to find some village that would take him in. Offer some sort of protection. Or he could just die right now and join Konan in heaven. If he could get to heaven. Praise Kami if he could just see her before he went to hell.

Pein managed to make it outside the village into a forest before he collapsed of his injuries. Careful not to destroy the paper flower, he shielded it with his half shredded cloak. 'Forgive me Konan...' were his last thoughts before he fell unconscious.


	2. Chapter 1 Nameless Soul

Authors note: See prologue. Please review!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I do own the nameless ninja that finds Pein!

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Pein's Point of View:

I opened my eyes, expecting Konan in heaven or the burning pits of hell. But what I saw was very different. It was trees. The first thought that raced through my mind was 'I'm alive?' I tried to get up, but instantly felt burning pain in my leg.

"Your awake..." I froze. Who was that? It was a female voice, I knew that. I looked towards the voices owner. It was a dark blue haired girl with dark blue eyes. It wasn't Konan, but I had to admit she was pretty. She was wearing black pants that ended just below the knee, with a black t-shirt and ninja sandals that most Konoha ninjas wore. Now she looked worried.

"Oh! I didn't scare you did I?" she asked. I slowly shook my head no. She looked relived. "Aren't you the so called God of Amegakure?" she asked.

"I was..." I muttered. She nodded with understanding. Apparently news spread fast.

"You never told me what to call you," she said. I looked up again.

"Sorry... You can call me Pein," I said, not caring who I trusted, I was good as dead anyway. She smiled. "What can I call you?" I asked. She bit her lip.

"Well... You see... I uh... Kind of don't have a name I can remember..." she muttered. I blinked. No name? That was odd. "I guess you can call me whatever you want..." she trailed off. I thought for a moment.

"For now you can be Kagami, for you remind me of someone I know" I said. The newly named Kagami brightened.

"Here, let me boil some tea for you!" Kagami said. She got up and walked over to a fire. I took this time to examine my wounds. Most were bandaged. Others had some kind of healing cream on them. My pathetic excuse for a cloak was a few feet away. I reached for it and looked for Konan's flower. I found it preserved, perfect. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's a pretty flower you have there," Kagami said, coming back with two cups of tea. I carefully put the flower down and took my cup of tea.

"Yeah... It used to belong to my girlfriend..." I said, sighing a bit. I fought back tears. She took a sip of her tea and gazed at the flower.

"She sounds like she was very talented," Kagami said. I nodded.

"I guess my first task until I die is to avenge her death," I said. Kagami gazed at me.

"How will you do that? There are hundreds of Konoha ANBU," she said. I sighed.

"I'll know him when I see him. After that... I'm not sure what I'm going to do. Maybe find a village to stay in. A small one preferably," I said. She nodded.

"You should rest for a while," she said, then got up to pitch a tent. I nodded and held the paper flower in my hand. Soon I was lost in the memories of Konan.

* * *

Kagami's Point of View:

Once I made Pein comfortable in the tent, I spread out my sleeping bag and stared up at the stars. Pein had said that he would leave the tent to me, but I said I couldn't sleep unless I saw the stars. He shrugged and claimed the tent. I thought about how I found him, laying, half dead on the ground.

_flash back_

_I was jumping through the trees, not going anywhere. I was confused and disorientated. I suppose I could have been the worse ninja ever. Even if I was in the ANBU. I had no idea where I was, somewhere near the Rain Village I thought, since it was raining, and it hadn't stopped raining for a long time. I had nowhere to go and no place to be. Hell... I don't even have a name! I was just a pawn. But I had broken away, apparently I had died, and I regained some of what was lost to me. I thought I should just kill myself. Until I found him. He wore a black cloak with red clouds on it, though half of the cloak was shredded. He had many wounds and burns. His various piercings did not shine now, they were dull and lifeless. His orange hair was no longer brilliant, it had faded to a mucky brown-orange. I stopped to help him, might as well help at least one soul before I died. I cleaned his wounds and skin. I took out some of the piercings so I could put some healing cream on. I took his cloak off to treat the wounds on the arms and legs. There I found the pure paper flower. It was complex yet beautiful. This person must have tried to keep it perfect. Carefully I put it back under the cloak, in the hidden pocket it was hidden in. I started a fire a little ways away under a hollow tree. I gather some water from a near-by stream and put it beside to the fire to boil later. I found my bandages in my backpack and went back to bandage the deeper wounds on the man. Soon he woke up, and the rain steadied to a drizzle. I noticed he possessed the Rin'negan. His name was Pein. I told him I had no name, so he named me Kagami, meaning mirrior. He also commented that I looked like someone he knew. Maybe it was just my blue hair. It always gave me away in battles, even when I had my ANBU mask on. I made Pein some tea and put up a tent for him to sleep in._

_end flash back_

Pein said he would track down the Konoha ANBU that killed his girlfriend. If I could, I decided I would help him. I had nothing better to do anyway. Soon I fell asleep.

My dream was very vivid and strange. I saw flashes of blue and orange, glints of silver and white, streaks of red and black, shreds of gray and dark blue, swirls of orange black and red, and blood was all around. Then everything went black. Something was glowing up ahead. I ran to meet it, somehow knowing this was a dream. What I saw was an angel, or something along the lines of one. Giant paper wings almost grew out of her back, a paper flower in her hair, and blue hair that clashed with all the white. She smiled once at me and took the flower out of her hair.

"Thank you..." were the only two words she said as she handed the paper flower to me. She then disappeared into a thousand pieces of paper. I stared in awe and amazement. Then the dream ended.

When I woke up I half expected the paper flower to be in my hands, but it wasn't. All that my hands gripped was air. The sky was gray with dawn. I yawned and sat up. Pein was already up and attempting to stand. I sighed. No use stopping him now... I stood up to go help him before he injured himself anymore.

"Pein, do you need any help?" I asked. He glanced at me.

"I guess I could use a little..." he mumbled. I repressed a smirk. I took one of his arms and put it around my shoulder. Carefully he put weight on one of his feet. Then he started on the other. Soon he was balanced enough that he didn't need me anymore. But he kept holding on. I coughed a little and Pein finally noticed his arm around my shoulders.

"Sorry, just wanted to see if I could still balance..." he said. I smiled politely.

"It's ok..." I said. Though secretly I was kind of freaked out. "So... You said something about avenging your girlfriends death... Why don't we start looking for the guy who killed her?" I asked, changing the subject. Pein nodded.

"Let's go, but slowly please..." Pein said, still aching from his battle.

* * *

A/N Konan saying Thank you? Pein keeping Kagami close? Kagami helping Pein? The world coming to an end? All these questions answered soon! (Except for the last one... That was supposed to be a joke) Next chapter out soon! And for those who are saying why I am not updating Bitter Resentment... Could it be Love? Is because this was too good of an idea to throw away. If I ever get active enough to update Bitter Resentment, I will work on chapters of that. But don't count on that soon, because I am going on vacation for a week starting Wednesday (June 18). Keep watch for more chapters and please review!


	3. Chapter 2 Feelings

Authors Note: Yeah! Chapter two is out! I'm actually being really prompt about these chapters! Thanks to all who reviewed!! And put me on favorites!! And put me on Story alert!! :D Thanks!! You're my inspiration! By the way... if you happen to like Bitter Resentment, please review there so I will be motivated to update it... Why do I keep advertising my other story? Who am I talking too? On with the chapter!! A side note: Chapters might start out third person, then go to first person, I'll warn you be putting 's Point of View...

Disclaimer: If you don't know it, I advise you stop reading FANfictions.

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The going was slow, but Kagami was happy. She finally had something to do with someone who actually was her sort of friend! Pein had to note that Kagami did look a bit like Konan... Blue hair, angelic personality, the works. Pein banished his last thought. Unless Konan herself came down from heaven and told him he could love again, he wouldn't.

* * *

Pein's Point of View:

I hated to slow Kagami down like this. But I couldn't jump through trees like I normally did. Or run either. I had to walk. But Kagami stayed by my side.

"Let's stop in this town and see if they have any medics," she suggested. I shrugged. We walked into this small village on the outskirts of the Fire Country. Fortunately, the village had a small hospital, where I could properly heal these wounds. Obviously this was a ninja populated town, as there were weapon shops and scroll shops. I even saw a few Konoha headbands within the mix. I would have stood out with my headband, but I had lost it in the fight. Kagami noticed this now that my hair was partially clean and my face blood free.

"Your hair is really messy without your headband..." she commented. I shrugged. I wasn't wearing my Akatsuki cloak anymore. I decided it was damaged enough to get rid of it. Currently I was looking for a black cloak that actually looked good. We entered the hospital. Kagami walked up to the front desk.

"Excuse me... We would like to have some medical treatment. We have money," she asked politely. The woman looked up.

"Of course. Treatment for him and treatment for..." but the woman was cut off.

"Oh, no treatment for me, I just need some healing cream and bandages. I'm not cut up that bad..." Kagami said. The woman nodded. I sighed. True Kagami didn't look too bad, but I know that she did have at least a torn muscle in her leg.

"You should still get a check to make sure you didn't tear anything coming here... You said earlier that your leg hurt," I said. Kagami bit her lip.

"Fine..." she muttered. The woman behind the desk nodded. We took a seat in the waiting room and waited to be called in. A minute later, a medic came out and called us over.

"Kagami, you come over to this room to have your leg checked out, and uh..." the medic looked at me for my name. Thinking they would know who I was, I used a name I had all but forgotten.

"Nagato," I supplied. The medic nodded.

"You will go to this room to have your cuts healed," the medic continued. Kagami glanced in my direction. She then disappeared into a room. I walked to the room I was assigned and entered. A few minutes later a different medic came in.

"Nagato, is that right?" he asked. I nodded. He examined a few cuts and healed them with Shōsen Jutsu. After a few minutes all the wounds were healed. The medic nodded and I went to go wait outside Kagami's door.

* * *

Kagami's Point of View:

I separated from Pein to go to my room. I could see why he would use a different name in a place were there could be enemies. I waited for a few minutes before the medic came in and carefully checked my leg. I winced as he touched the part where I had torn a muscle.

"I believe you have torn a muscle, but that's easily fixed," he said. I smiled politely. He took out a scalpel and it glowed green under his touch. When he went to cut into my leg, no blood was shed. I concluded that the Shōsen Jutsu healed the muscle, but as the blade cut, the chakra healed the cuts, so it looked like no one cut in at all. After a moment of "cutting" into my leg, the medic switched just to using his hand to heal.

"There, that should be good. Don't strain the muscle too much, or it will just get more injured. I nodded. The medic left and I gathered my backpack and followed. What I didn't expect was Pein to be right outside my door.

"P... uh... Nagato... I didn't expect you..." I said, noticing some medics were around.

"I had to make sure they didn't hurt you," he teased. Wow... That was new. Pein teasing? I rolled my eyes. He still hadn't seen me in combat yet. He smirked. We walked out and I paid the amount that it cost to get heal. What a rip off. We decided we deserved a comfortable bed and walk to the inn to reserve a room.

"One room with two beds please," I said, smiling politely at the man behind the counter. He reached for a key.

"For only 1080 more yen, you can upgrade to a king sized bed," the man said, glancing at Pein, then me. I narrowed my eyes.

"Two beds. I won't say it again," I warned. The man scowled.

"Fine... Thats 10803 yen," the man said. I paid him the money and took the key. Pein smirked and followed me up the inn stairs to our room.

"That was amusing," he commented. I snorted.

"He had it coming to him," I muttered. We came to the door and I unlocked it with the key. We entered the small room. I dumped my backpack on one of the beds and fell back onto the bed. It was very comfortable.

"I'm hungry," I said, staring at the ceiling.

"I saw a sushi place that also sold sake," Pein said. I sighed.

"Let's just go there..." I muttered, locking the door and jumping out the window. **(A/N Remember, they're ninjas...)**

We sat at the sushi bar eating sushi and drinking sake and talking and did I mention drinking sake? I think that night was the most sake I've ever drank in my life. I didn't actually remember how much in the morning, but it was a lot. We ended up passed out on the floor of the bar. Some ninjas on a mission had to drag us back to our inn room. Or so their note said. I had the worst headache in the morning.

* * *

Peins Point of View:

I swore I had way too much sake. Why? Because my dream the impossible happened.

I woke up in a strange room, somehow knowing this was a dream. The only light came from the one figure I thought I'd never see again until I died. Konan. I rushed over to her and hugged her and kissed her, I had missed her so much. She gazed warmly at me.

"Pein..." she said.

"Yes my angel?" I asked. She sighed.

"You cannot ignore the feeling..." she said.

"I will not love unless you tell me I can," I stated. She rolled her eyes.

"Pein, I'm dead. I'm not going to give you grief once you die about you loving another person. It shows that you don't dwell on the past, yet you still honor someone's sacrifice," she whispered in my ear.

"Does that mean..." I started. Konan sighed again.

"Yes it means that you can love her! Kami... Men..." she muttered, giving me one last kiss, then faded away in a thousand paper sheets.

I moaned as I woke up. Note to self: Don't ever drink more than five bottles of sake... At least I didn't have a headache. I glanced over at Kagami. She was taking some Advil. I smirked when I thought of my dream. So Konan felt it was right eh? Well we'll just have to see. I glanced outside. It was raining. That was weird. It was sunny the day before... Oh well. Another day of traveling, then we would be right outside Konoha. We started out of the town, it was still raining. Kagami yawned and jumped up to a tree branch. I followed, close behind. We heard a rustling and we both cursed silently.

"Damn Missing-nin..." she muttered, not taking in the fact both of us were missing-nin too. Suddenly the Missing-nin attacked. Well... I should say Missing-nins. There were two. Kagami dropped off the tree branch to the forest floor below. The second Missing-nin attacked me, but, let's just say he met his end quickly. The first went after Kagami. I dropped to a lower branch to see if she needed help. Kagami was already through the hand signs of a jutsu.

"Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu!" she shouted, and a lot of the rain fall took the form of a dragon and attacked the Missing-nin. The Missing-nin though had another trick up his sleeve.

"Doton: Doryūheki!" he said, spitting out a stream of mud which solidified into an earth wall. The water dragon couldn't penetrate. Kagami sighed. She waited. Just when the Missing-nin attacked from behind, Kagami poofed away. The missing-nin's eyes widened. A shadow clone.

"Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!" Kagami said, and a giant blast of water hit the missing-nin. Before he could react, Kagami was already onto her next attack.

"Kaminari_: _Bakurai Shōha!" Kagami hissed. Lightning chakra came forth from her upraised hand, hitting the Missing-nin. I didn't know that jutsu. I jumped down next to her.

"What was that jutsu?" I asked. Kagami smiled.

"I made it up myself, I saw someone do something similar with water, so I decided I would try and copy it with lightning! It's called Lightning Release: Exploding Lightning Shockwave," she said. I smirked. Sounded like she saw Kisame's 'Water Release: Exploding Water Shockwave.' Kagami pulled a book from her backpack. She flipped through until she found what she was looking for.

"Looks like this guy is an A ranked Missing-nin, if we run into trouble in Konoha, we can trade this guy for the ANBU member," Kagami said. I had to admit, that was a pretty good plan. Kagami checked the other missing-nin. "He's just a C-rank missing nin... If we want the ANBU, then A ranked is the way to go," she said. I nodded. Soon we reached a clearing in the woods. We decided to rest here for a while. The rain had started up again, now it was pouring, but Kagami didn't care. Neither did I. Kagami was leaning against a tree, letting the rain fall on her face. Her beautiful face. I mean... Her soft, gentle, innocent face. Why do I keep thinking that. Konan did say I could love... But...

So I gave in to my feelings. It was now or never. I scooted over to her, she opened one eye, then closed it again. She shifted her head so the rain didn't pound against her face as much, so it looked like she fell asleep against a tree. Carefully I took her head in my hands.

* * *

Kagami's Point of View:

The first sign something was out of the ordinary was that Pein sat down beside me. Usually Pein doesn't like closeness... The next thing was that he was holding my face gently. Pein isn't gentle. The third thing was that his piercings where gently scraping my lips. He was kissing me. My eyes snapped open. Blue eyes met orange eyes. I swear he was smirking against my lips. It felt so wrong, yet I liked it. No. I wasn't supposed to like it. But I couldn't move my arms, legs, or any part of me for that matter. The coldness of the piercings, the softness of the kiss, the way he looked at me... I fought against the feeling, but soon it took over me. Then he broke away.

"Was that ok?" he asked smugly. I took a deep but ragged breath. Against my will I answered.

"That was better than ok,"

* * *

A/N Oohh!! A little romance is kicking up between Kagami and Pein! What will happen next? Will they ever get to Konoha? And will they be able to avenge Konan's death? Why am I asking so many questions?

On a side note: Don't expect any updates for a week or so, starting tomorrow, I am on vacation! To Jamaica! Stay loyal my loyal readers! I will be back before long! (And if I can convince my mom to let me bring my laptop on the plane...)


	4. Chapter 3 Beloved

Authors Note: THANK YOU TO ALL THAT REVIEW/FAVORITE-ED/ALERTED! YOU ALL ROCK!! Anyway... Pein took a risk and kissed Kagami. What will happen next? Will they ever get to Konoha!? I don't know!! Wait... I should know... I'm the author...

Disclaimer: If you don't know the disclaimer by now, you shouldn't be reading FAN fictions.

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Pein's Point of View:

Those five little words meant the world to me now. Screw world peace and all that crap I thought was right before. Now all I need was her. My angel. My savior. As long as I was with her, I was happy. Those five little words proved that. That was all I needed before I died. All I needed was her. But just as I realized that, something went wrong. Her eyes widened. And not in a good way. Her breathing faltered. She began to cough. And not just normal coughing. She was coughing up blood.

"Kagami! Kagami! Whats wrong? Kagami!" I shouted, but to no anvil. I gently shook her. Her eyes were slipping closed.

"Kagami! No! Kagami!"

* * *

Kagami's point of view:

After that kiss, I was lightheaded. I felt something stir within me. But it wasn't from the kiss. I thought back to the battle with the missing nin. That one punch. My eyes widened. It hadn't hit a vital organ, but it did mess up some things in my body. I started to cough. Each cough brought more pain. It felt like a hole was ripping through my chest.

"Kagami! Kagami! Whats wrong? Kagami!" Pein shouted, but I couldn't answer. My blue eyes were slipping closed, I fought to stay conscious. The last thing I heard was Pein's voice, trying to will me awake.

"Kagami! No! Kagami!"

* * *

Pein's Point of View:

I couldn't let her die here. I had to get good medical help. We were about 45 minutes walking distance from Konoha. I was an enemy to them, but who cares right now! Maybe they would help Kagami. Not me, but maybe Kagami. I had to risk it. Gently I picked her up and jumped up to the trees. I had to hurry. I didn't know how long she had. I think I must have used almost all of my chakra. I arrived at the gates, exhausted. But I had made it there in 20 minutes. I stumbled into the village, it was still raining.

"Sir, identify yourself!" one of the chunin guards said. I glanced at him.

"Where is the hospital?" I asked. The guard looked confused.

"Down the street and to the right," he said. I nodded and started to walk, step by step, to the hospital. The chunin just stared after me. I passed several villagers and only a few ninja. A blond haired ninja with a pink haired ninja with a black haired ninja passed by me. The blond haired one glanced over.

"Hey, you need some help?" he asked. I was about to answer when chakra exhaustion finally overcame me. My foot hit the ground and I proceeded to fall. I clutched Kagami close to me, so she wouldn't be hurt. The blond ninja caught my body before it fell to the ground.

"Oi! Hey! What happened?" he asked, but I was falling into unconsciousness.

"Naruto... We should get them to the hospital..." the pink haired ninja said as I slipped away. So the Kyuubi-kid was saving him. How ironic. And the pink haired ninja who killed Sasori... Sakura was it? A moment later, blackness surrounded me.

My eyes slowly opened to a bright light. I groaned and covered my eyes. Slowly I sat up in the hospital bed. Next to me was Kagami. She hadn't awoken yet, but she was looking better. I heard the door opening. I turned to see who it was. I started to glare, but then my eyes widened a bit. It was Tsundae. The fifth Hokage. Oh great... She was going to beat the shit out of me, heal me, then kill me. Just great. But, she didn't.

"Never thought I'd see you again... Nagato," she said. I glared.

"My name is Pein," I stated. She snorted.

"I don't care what your name is. All I care about is what you are doing here!" Tsundae snarled. I sighed.

"Fine. I'll tell you what I'm after. I'm after the ANBU who killed my now dead girlfriend Konan. That's all I'm after," I muttered, not caring any more. Tsundae didn't look satisfied.

"I know your after Naruto!" she accused. I sighed again.

"No I'm not! The Akatsuki is finished. All of them are dead, except for Hidan but he's useless now. I've given up those goals. I have found something better in life," I said. She still didn't look satisfied. Kagami stirred. I threw back the covers and rushed to her side. She groaned in pain.

* * *

Kagami's point of view:

"Where am I?" I asked, moaning in pain.

"Your in the Konoha Hospital," a female's voice said. I looked at her. Somewhere in my mind I registered that this was the Fifth Hokage. Pein was by my side. Me. Who was I again? Pein had given me a name, but what was it? At least I knew where I was.

"Who am I?" I muttered. I felt Pein stiffen beside me. Tsundae, yes that was her name, looked worried. She put her hand to my head and I felt the healing chakra.

"What is it?" Pein asked.

"I'm not sure... We'll have to do more tests. Why don't you go out and get something to eat?" Tsunade said. Then she slapped herself in the head. "But don't go out of the village!" she added. Pein sighed. I somehow knew that ANBU would drag him away if he didn't go himself. I nodded at him and nodded back. I would be ok in this hospital. He should go enjoy himself for once. Even if it is without me.

* * *

Pein's Point of View:

I walked down the empty streets. It was dark now, and most of the shops were closed. I managed to eat some ramen before the stand closed for the night. It was quiet. Almost too quiet for my liking. I missed the noise from Deidara and Tobi's fights. I missed the cursing from Hidan at Kazuku. Heck, I even missed the hns from Itachi. I ended up sitting on a park bench just staring. How in Jashins name was I going to kill the ANBU who killed my Konan? We couldn't just waltz in and ask to trade an A rank missing nins body for the chance to kill an ANBU agent. That was such a stupid plan. And I had made it too. Why is life so unfair? I sighed, not even noticing the person beside me sit down. When I finally did notice, I glanced at him. He was in his late 20s, with a mask on his face, and a weird haircut that almost off set the silver hair. I knew from what Itachi reported, he was Hatake Kakashi, and most of the time he was reading a book, but tonight he wasn't.

"Can I ask you something..." Kakashi asked. I glanced over.

"Sure..." I replied.

"What do you do when someone you like pretty much hates your guts?" he asked. I thought.

"Maybe try surprising her with a dinner or a kiss... That usually works," I replied.

"That's better advice than Jiraiya..." Kakashi said. I cringed at the name.

"Jiraiya probably hasn't had a girlfriend though..." I muttered. I swear Kakashi was smiling. But that damn mask kept me from seeing it.

"Well... Thanks for the advice, I'm off," Kakashi said, getting up and then disappearing. I sighed. I needed to know how Kagami was doing, but Tsunade wouldn't let me in the hospital. I sighed and went to go bug Tsundae about the test results.

"For the last time, the test results aren't in yet!" the fifth Hokage growled, then took a swing from her sake bottle.

"But I need to know!" I growled back.

"They should be coming in..." but she was cut off by a knock. "Enter!" she said. It was her assistant, Shizune was it?

"Lady Tsundae, the test results are in... It seems that Kagami has forgotten everything personal about herself, her name, her childhood, everything. She can only remember the recent past. But she does remember one thing from her childhood. A name... But she wouldn't tell me..." Shizune said. But before that sentence was even finished, I was out of the room.

"Kuso..." Tsundae muttered. I burst into Kagami's room. She jumped.

"Pein-sama! You surprised me!" she said.

"Oh, sorry..." I said. She smiled.

"It's ok... Why are you visiting again? I thought Tsundae-sama wouldn't let you visit until tomorrow..." she asked.

"They said that you couldn't remember anything except the recent past, and I wanted to confirm it..." I trailed off. Kagami smiled.

"It's true I can't remember anything, but I did manage to remember you," she said. I suppressed a blush. "I also heard a name... And despite what the medics say, I know someone told it too me long ago. Ai... Aiko! Yes Aiko! That's what it was!" Kagami said. I nodded.

"Aiko means beloved, and I think you are loved," I said. She blushed.

* * *

Kagami's Point of View:

"Pein-sama..." I muttered, blushing.

"What? Don't you think your loved?" he said, right next to me in an instant. I blushed even deeper. True I was feeling better now, but I still needed to rest for a while.

"Come on, you can rest anywhere, and I have a feeling we aren't exactly friends around here..." he said. I gave him a confused look.

"But what about that ANBU?" I asked.

"He's on a mission. A very long one I might add," Pein said. I nodded.

"One small little problem... I can't run. I can walk, but I can't run until my leg heals," I said. Pein smirked his 'I have an idea that I don't think you will mind' smirk. I blinked my blue eyes. That smirk was never a good thing... And I was right. Pein bent down and scooped me up like I was a doll. I tried to protest, but he silenced me.

"It's my pleasure... Aiko," he whispered in my ear. I blushed yet again. We exited through the window, jumping off into the night.

* * *

A/N I know these chapters are kinda short, but oh well, deal with it! Heh... I even got a little Bitter Resentment in there! Thanks to all who read!! Send in a review, I allow anonymous reviews because I know sometimes I'm too lazy to log in and review! And I have an announcement! I am officially going to try and continue Bitter Resentment, Could it be love?! Yay!! Next time, What will Pein and the newly named Aiko do now? Go kill the ANBU? What about after that? Why am I asking so many questions that you don't know the answer too?


	5. Chapter 4 The First Attack

**Authors Note**: Yo! Thanks to all who've reviewed and all the other stuff! See people, if you review or favorite or alert then I write more! Easy as that! Side Note: Go check out Cynchick's ItaSaku and DeiSaku stories! The first is Perception and the sequel is Silver Lining. Silver Lining actually made me cry in some places... And check out Vertigo too! That also made me cry in some places... Wow... I'm really emotional... But check them out even if you don't like the pairing... I didn't like the DeiSaku pairing, now I absolutely ADORE it to death! I might write one of my own one day! Eh... This chapters more of a filler chapter but still, enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** Ok people... If Naruto was mine, which it isn't, Itachi would be alive and kicking Sasuke's ass right now. As much as I love the Akatsuki, They would be disbanded and the demons uh... Off someplace in happy land. Sakura would abandon Konoha for Deidara. AND Naruto would be the Hokage right now. But I don't own Naruto, so none of this will ever happen. (Except for maybe Naruto becoming Hokage...)

* * *

Aiko's Point of View:

The scenery flew by me was a blur. Apparently we were going to somehow track down the ANBU. Well that was not very good... I knew almost nothing about advanced tracking.

"Where are we going?" I asked. I swore he smirked his 'I know something you don't know' smirk. I frowned.

"You'll see, but it will take a while to get there," Pein said. I pouted. He grinned. I sighed.

"Whatever you say... Whatever you say," I muttered, resting my head against his shoulder. He smirked again. I held back a snort. He was always smirking. There were different smirks, like the 'I can't believe you actually beat me in shogi' smirk and the 'You really are evil even though you look like an angel' smirk. That was what he had started to call me, his angel. I rolled my eyes. I was far from an innocent angel. He had said he didn't deserve me. I said that I didn't deserve him. He rolled his eyes and dismissed the idea. But what did he know? 'Almost everything about you...' I answered my own thoughts. I silently cursed myself. Why did I always do that? I yawned, only now realizing how late it was getting.

"We should stop for the night..." I said, knowing he probably needed rest.

"Nah, I can go on for a while more," Pein said, his mouth curling into a small smile. I sighed, but didn't argue. If I did, it was one I was sure to lose. I rested my head against his shoulder again and drifted into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

I woke up hours later in a tent like structure. I guessed when Pein got tired, he made camp. I was surprised I didn't wake up, I wasn't the heaviest of sleepers. I slowly sat up, yawning and then rubbing my eyes. The tent was empty except for me, so I assumed Pein was already up. I crawled out of the tent and stretched my aching muscles. As I assumed, Pein was up, attempting to make what little supplies we had edible. I giggled softly. His attempts were obviously failing. I walked over to him.

"Need help?" I asked, observing what he was trying to do. He snorted and stirred the contents with a spoon. I rolled my eyes and snatched the spoon from his hands and tasted the uh... stuff he was making. It wasn't soup, but it had a soup-like consistency. I practically gagged at what he made.

"That was the single most disgusting thing I have ever tasted..." I coughed.

"It wasn't that bad was it?" he asked, taking a taste for himself.

"Ok... It was..." he muttered. I thought for a moment. I rummaged around in the supplies.

"Add this to it... It will mask the disgustingness," I said, throwing him a wrapped package. Pein rolled his eyes and added the contents. He stirred it a few times and poured it in two bowls. I took one and hesitantly tasted it. It was alright now, not the best in the world, but it was better than before.

"Remind me never to let you cook again," I said. Pein narrowed his eyes at me. I grinned. He rolled his eyes and ruffled my hair. I gave him a glare. I did not like my hair being ruffled. But his smile became bigger. And he ruffled my hair again. I narrowed my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest. He smirked, obviously he was enjoying this. I huffed and went to go get my pack. I glanced inside the tent, but it wasn't there. I looked around confused. My kunai and shruiken were in there. And my spare set of clothing. And my brush, which I really needed now.

"Looking for this?" Pein asked, holding my pack up. I tried to grab it from him, but he took advantage of me being shorter than he was and holding it out of my reach.

"Come on!" I muttered, trying to get the pack. I would have had a better chance if 1) I wasn't partially injured. And 2) Pein wasn't holding my arm. I reached one last time, then dropped my arm.

"Why aren't you letting me have my pack?" I asked. He smirked. Not just any smirk, the 'I have an idea that you probably won't like but why should you even try because you know I'll win anyway' smirk. _'Shit... This is never good...'_ I thought.

"Why? I'm just testing your skills," he said innocently. I sighed. If I couldn't get my brush back, I might as well find something else. Then the question I tried to remember for so many days hit me again.

"Pein-sama..."

* * *

Pein's Point of View:

Oh.My.God. I think I'm going to seriously kill myself. Six times over. I loved her, but I couldn't do _that_. I couldn't sentence her to _that_. Going _there_ was out of the question. There were too many painful memories, not to mention ANBU would be patrolling. _(A/N: HA! I totally fooled you right? You actually thought Aiko would suggest that? And they say I'm perverted...)_ That was for certain. But then again... It had been a while. They would have gotten rid of most of the stuff there. The ANBU would have found whatever they wanted to find there. They probably would be gone by now. I didn't want to surrender myself to her beautiful voice, the way she pleaded, those blue eyes. But I did. Damn myself for getting so soft.

"Fine. I'll take you to the Rain Country, but I can't say we won't be entirely out of danger," I said. Aiko beamed and threw her arms around me.

"Arigato Pein-sama," she whispered, her face half buried in my cloak. I smirked and bent down to pick her up. She shifted her arms from my chest to my neck. I smirked and threw her pack in one of the many pockets underneath my robe. Well... It was my spare Akatsuki cloak, I picked it up from one of the bases that I came across last night.

"Don't you need the tent?" Aiko asked. I shook my head.

"I know of a few better places than a tent," I said. The old Akatsuki bases, now more plentiful now that we were out of the Fire Country. Aiko nodded absentmindedly. After kicking out the fire, I jumped into the trees.

* * *

Aiko's Point of View:

I froze.

"Chakra Signatures, 1 kilometer west, feels like Hunter Nins or ANBU," I hissed quietly to Pein. He muttered something sounding like curses. How did they pick us up so fast? We were only half-way through Grass country. I felt him mask his chakra and I did so also. Suddenly I had an idea.

"Stop here... I have an idea..." I whispered. He nodded and landed on a tree branch. I whispered my idea in his ear. He nodded.

"Kage Bushin No Jutsu," we whispered together. No doubt that would catch the attention of the ninja. Our shadow clones bounded off, not masking their chakra. We quickly masked ours and went the opposite direction. I closed my eyes to focus more. Soon the chakra signatures faded off into the distance.

"They're gone," I said. Suddenly something appeared. My eyes widened.

"Get down out of the trees now!" I hissed. Pein obliged and a second later the trees cracked and shook.

"Shit... It's her..." I muttered, recognizing the chakra and the attack anywhere.

"You mean..." he said and I nodded. He cursed too.

"I should be able to run for a short while, just hope they didn't... Damn they did..." I muttered, letting Pein put me down. I closed my eyes and tried to identify the chakra signatures. I knew two for sure, the other two I didn't.

"I know two of the four people. I've seen one before, fought the other one before," I muttered. Pein nodded, and I continued. "One is the Hokage's apprentice, Haruno, Sakura. The other is a Root Member, Sai," I said. Pein nodded.

"The others are Hatake Kakashi and Uzumaki Naruto," he said. I groaned.

"Damn," I said. He nodded. I sighed and gazed around at my surroundings. Good. There was water. That would help, a lot. A moment later the four burst into the clearing. Kakashi already had his sharingan on. I gazed around at our attackers. Quickly I listed their elemental chakra from what I knew in the Bingo Book. Kakashi pretty much had all of them because of his sharingan. Uzumaki Naruto had wind. I knew a few fire jutsus, but not a lot.

"I'll take the blond one and the pink haired one," I muttered to Pein. He nodded, knowing it was probably wise for him not to fight Naruto. I smiled at Naruto and Sakura. I quickly went threw a few hand signs.

"Dokugiri!" I muttered, poison mist blowing across the clearing. Pein, Kakashi, and Sai jumped to the left to avoid the mist and Naruto, Sakura and I jumped to the left. I did some more hand signs.

"Suiton: Ja no Kuchi!" I said, water rising up. Naruto recognized the jutsu.

"Sakura! Get out of the way!" he said, jumping away from the snake. Sakura nodded and jumped away too. I smirked. He must have picked it up from that damned jutsu stealer Fuka. I shrugged and changed gears to my own jutsu.

"Raiton: Bakurai Shōha," I gathered my chakra in my hand and lowered it to the water still on the ground. Sakura noticed this.

"Naruto, on the trees, now!" she said and they both jumped up. I smirked.

"Trees won't help you with this jutsu," I laughed as the lightning chakra snaked up the trees. They both jumped into the air. I smirked, going for the boy first.

"Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" I heard him say. I smirked, jumping up to meet him.

"Those won't be of any use," I snickered, throwing shruiken at them, surprising Naruto.

"How did you know which was me?" he asked, no one had ever figured it out. I smirked.

"It's easy, you think the opponent would think you would be the one in the back, but given your nature, you would be in the front and center," I stated simply. He growled and tried to land a punch. I dodged and took his wrists. Swinging him around, I let go of his wrists and he was falling back to earth at warp speed. I landed on a tree branch, trying to find Sakura. I noticed all too late that there she was. I quickly jumped off the tree as it fell to the ground. So they were teaming up huh? I better show them a good time then. I chuckled, sinking into the ground. Sakura snorted and punched the ground. Only to reveal, nothing.

"Nani? I... She..." Sakura trailed off.

"Surprise!" I said, jumping from the trees. Suddenly I felt his presence. I flipped backwards. Naruto flew right in front of me, rasengan in hand. 'Damn that was close...' I thought. We couldn't keep fighting with these ninja forever and then keep moving. We had to risk being chased. Damn it all to hell.

* * *

Pein's Point of View:

Well this was just great. At this rate I would have to summon another body... If I had any alive still. Damn Jiraiya. I had been fighting these two for a while now and it was only getting worse. We had to escape, I'm sure Aiko was thinking the same thing. In fact, there was her chakra signature, coming fast. That couldn't be good for her leg, but then again it was Uzumaki Naruto for Kami's sake. I swear he could run all day and night and then some. I saw Aiko pushing off a tree a few yards away. I figured that was my cue and glanced back at my opponents. Then I joined up with Aiko.

"You ok?" I asked. She nodded, though she flinched at a particularly hard landing. But we had to keep going. Aiko knew that too.

"Damn it... Why are they following us? Can't they leave us alone..." she muttered. I tried to find their chakra signatures, but Aiko was more sensitive to chakra.

"They probably got a mission from the Hokage," I said. Aiko nodded.

"Theres an old Akatsuki base up ahead, let's hide out there till they give up," I said. Aiko nodded again.

"I should be able to hold up till then," she said. Once we got near the base, we jumped onto a nearby stream. I knew Kakashi had those tracking dogs. Aiko nodded and jumped on too. We jumped to the abandoned house that served as a small base. Quickly I henged then masked my chakra. Aiko nodded and quickly henged too. We hid in one of the rooms. A knock on the door sounded. We froze.

"It's... Sai," Aiko said after a second. I nodded and ignored the knocking.

"Damn... It's Kakashi now, he knows someone's here..." Aiko muttered. I cursed. We got up to answer the door. I opened the door. Aiko was thinking.

"Honey who is it?" she called. I held back a cringe and a laugh.

"It's..." I trailed off looking at Kakashi.

"Ah... Sorry... I'm Hatake Kakashi, have you seen a man with auburn hair and a women with blue hair?" he asked. I shook my head, suppressing a smile.

"Kakashi..." A small pug muttered. I made it look like I didn't know how that dog was talking. Kakashi glanced at Pakkun. The dog pointed towards Aiko. I suppressed a gulp. Just then Naruto came and jumped towards Aiko.

"What the hell is your damn problem?!" Aiko growled at Naruto, who was holding a kunai to her throat.

"Naruto," Sakura muttered.

"This is the blue haired one, I recognize that chakra anywhere! Especially if I just battled with her!" he growled. Aiko was getting very fed up now.

"I wouldn't do that Naruto," I said. Naruto snorted and put more pressure on the kunai.

"This is your last warning Naruto. Do anything else and I will be forced to hurt you," Aiko growled.

"You could only land one hit on me and it wasn't even a jutsu," he smirked. I sighed. 'Idiot...' I thought. Now I had to use that jutsu to get us out of here if Aiko snapped now.

"You're gonna pay for that baka!" Aiko hissed, drawing a kunai and stabbing it behind her. Naruto winced, but it gave Aiko enough time to slip away.

"You're lucky I missed your heart baka, we'll meet again," she hissed, drawing near Pein. We dropped the Henges and I grabbed Aiko by the wrist and we disappeared. Kakashi stared at the spot.

"Damn it," he said.

* * *

Authors Notes: Thus concludes the fourth chapter of Paper Flowers! Again thanks to all who reviewed, alerted, and favorite-ed. If you keep doing that, I will update! Eventually...


	6. Chapter 5 Amegakure

Authoress Notes: Ms. Dragon is demanding more Pein-sama, so here it is! Thanks again for all the reviews, favorites, and alerts! I ish happy that people read my stories! Be sure to vote in my poll on my profile! So... Pein-sama, do you want to do the disclaimer?

Pein: No.

Me: twitch I said do the disclaimer growls

Pein: Why should I?

Me: grins I thought you would say that! steps to the side to see a bound and gagged Aiko

Pein: eyes widen Flicker doesn't own Naruto or any of the characters associated with the series. She does own Aiko however, but soon Aiko shall be mine!

Me: Good Pein-sama. throws cookie

Pein: A cookie? OO You Americans are weird. starts to untie Aiko

* * *

Pein's Point of View:

When we arrived at the place we both collapsed. Well I did anyway. We were both breathing heavily.

"I hope I never have to use that jutsu again..." I huffed. That teleportation jutsu used up a lot of chakra. But we were in Amegakure. Well... The outside of it anyway.

"Let's rest for the night," I said and Aiko nodded. We found a small cave and crawled inside.

"Goodnight Aiko," I said.

"Goodnight Pein-sama," she said. I closed my eyes, but still masked my chakra.

* * *

Aiko's Point of View:

The fact that out camp was a cave was ok. That fact that it was cold was alright for now. And the fact it was wet and raining didn't help, but I could deal with that. But the fact that he was laying right next to me in this cave was different. Oh, and did I mention it was a tiny cave, barely enough room for two people to sleep? Well it was. In fact I was squashed right up against him. For those who don't know me, I don't exactly like people physically close to me. Don't ask why because I don't remember. So being squashed in a little cave with a hot guy sleeping right next to you was not good. In fact it was embarrassing. Why? Because said hot guy could kill me at any moment. But he didn't, and that was what unnerved me.

After all those thoughts ran through my head, exhaustion finally took over my mind and I fell into a dreamless slumber.

I opened my eyes, surprised that there was body heat coming from behind me. Pein hadn't woken up yet? Now that was weird. Maybe that jutsu did take a lot out of him. Then I felt something grab me. My eyes widened. It was Pein, and he was unconsciously wrapping his arms around my waist. He was pulling me closer to him. I felt the heat rise to my face. I felt something cold and metal on my skin. It was his piercings. I shivered, but not from the cold. In fact I was really really warm.

"Whats wrong Aiko? Are you cold?" he whispered in my ear. So he was awake. My blush deepened.

"N... No... P...Pein...sama..." I stuttered. I sounded like that girl in Konoha.

**Somewhere in Konoha**

Hinata sneezed.

"Oi, Hinata-chan, you ok?" Kiba asked. Hinata nodded.

"Must have been s... some dust," Hinata said, fiddling with her fingers.

**Back with Aiko**

If I could see his face, I bet he was smirking. I was uncomfortable being this close to him. And I'm sure he knew it. That's why he's doing this. Bastard. I knew he would find one thing I wasn't comfortable with and turn it against me. Damn it. He pressed his lips to my neck and I blushed even deeper. If that was possible...

"Are you uncomfortable?" he whispered in my ear. I nodded.

"Good," he said. So he was doing this on purpose! Bastard. But instead of taking it farther, he moved one hand underneath my knees and crawled out of the ridiculously small cave. Kami I hate that cave. He stood, me in his arm, and sighed at the entry way to Amegakure.

"I'm not sure if they will welcome me back, but I'm pretty sure they shouldn't attack us," he said. I nodded. And with that, he walked into the waterfall. **(A/N I don't know if theres a waterfall in front of Amegakure, but there is now!)**

* * *

Pein's point of view:

I didn't know if the people of Amegakure would welcome me back. I mean I did just leave them. I made a mental note to somehow have another entrance besides that stupid waterfall. I was already wet, but still, the waterfall water was cold. I gazed around the city I called home.

"Where is everyone?" Aiko asked, noting the emptiness. I shrugged. They couldn't still be actually doing that ritual would they? I walked towards the giant metal statue of myself.

"Egoistic aren't you?" Aiko muttered, seeing the statue.

"Actually, I didn't build that, they did," I said, pointing to the crowd of people kneeling in front of the statue. Aiko rolled her eyes. One of the villagers looked over, then did a double take.

"The God has returned!" he shouted, and more shouts filled the air. As much as I liked being called a God, this was just annoying. They all came rushing around us.

"Jeez! Give the man some breathing space!" Aiko muttered. The villagers drew back a bit. Aiko was kinda of shocked. Then she got an evil glint in her eye.

"Aiko..." I warned, but she didn't listen.

"What does a girl have to do to get a cloak around here?" she muttered, just loud enough so they could hear. Instantly, all the villagers ran off to get their best cloaks to offer Aiko one.

"Let's get away from here before they come back," I said, walking towards the building behind the statue.

"Damn... That white haired idiot took my ring," I muttered, searching through all my pockets for the keys to the door.

"Usually the rings all the Akatsuki members wear open the doors. But now I have to use the... key..." I said, looking at how many keys there were on the key chain. Aiko giggled. I sighed and let her stand, leaning against me. I tried the first key. Nope. I could rule out any small keys because those were too small. I tried the second key. Nope. The third. No.

"Finally!" I said, after 48 keys. Aiko rolled her eyes.

"What are the rest for?" she asked.

"We used to lock our bases the same way. And I like to collect them!" I said. Aiko bit her lip. Then she burst out laughing.

"You collect keys?" she said. I sighed. We entered the Akatsuki main base.

"Wow... This is all... So... pretty!" Aiko said, running her fingers along one of shelves. It was like the inside of an expensive hotel. I shrugged. I was used to it by now. She walked to the next room, which was the kitchen/living room. She turned towards me.

"You have a really big tv..." she said, pointing to said really big tv. **(A/N I don't know that many tv brands... So think of a really big HD tv! ) **I nodded, going towards the pantry to see if they raided our food.

"Damn... They took the frozen pie," I said. I made a mental note to try and find the pie stealers.

**Somewhere In Konoha**

Naruto, Sakura, and Sai sneezed at the same time.

"That was weird..." Sakura said, cutting a piece of blueberry pie.

"Yeah..." Naruto said, getting his second piece of pie. Sai just ate in silence.

**Back in Amegakure**

"Oh no! You are not cooking!" Aiko said, taking the food from me.

"What!? But I can cook a stir fry!" I said. Aiko sighed.

"No, you can't... I tasted your stir fry before," she said, rummaging around in the fridge for something. She found what she was looking for and turned the oven on, waiting for the pan to heat up. Once satisfied that it was hot enough, she added some oil, then some vegetables. In another pot, she boiled some water for rice. I sat at the counter that divided the kitchen and the living room. After a few minutes, Aiko came over with two plates full of rice and stir fry.

"Arigato," I said, handing a pair of chopsticks to Aiko. She smiled. We started to eat. Ok... I admit it... Her stir fry was better than mine. Once we finished, Aiko went to go explore the rooms upstairs. I followed her, making sure she didn't get lost.

* * *

Aiko's Point of View;

I came to the first door, which had burn marks on it. I opened the door and ducked quickly.

"What the hell was that!" I growled, gazing at the kunai embedded in the wall behind me. I quickly examined myself for any wounds. There were none. Good. I examined the kunai. As I thought, there were coated in poison. I looked inside the room. One half was a bunch of puppet parts and the other half was dried up clay lumps.

"That was Deidara and Sasori's room, glad you dodged the kunai," Pein said. I snorted and moved on to the next door. It seemed to look normal. I opened the door and again my senses told me to duck. This time not only kunai was thrown at my head, but also shruiken. At least they weren't poisoned. I looked in the room. It was fairly normal on one side. A little too black for my tastes. The other side was blue. It also had a separate bed for something. There was also an empty fishbowl on a nightstand on the blue side.

"That was Itachi and Kisame's room," Pein informed me. I nodded and moved to the next room. When I opened the door to this room, Pein grabbed my waist and pulled me back. A moment later a barrage of kunai, shruiken and a sword embedded themselves in the wall in front of the door. I glanced in the room. One side was heavily bloodstained and there was a lot of weapons. The other side had thread and was that money?

"Don't try taking the money... It's rigged to explode once you touch it, This was Kakuzu and Hidan's room. Kakuzu was tired of people stealing his money from his room..." Pein said. I nodded. As much as I wanted some money right now, I didn't want to explode for it. I moved on to the next door. This one also had burn marks on it. I opened it and was met with a blob of clay in my face. It wasn't laced with chakra, so it wasn't dangerous. -- It still pissed me off a bit. I cleaned my face and looked around the room. One side was, again, littered with dried up clay lumps. The other side was pretty normal, a bit messy though.

"That was Tobi and Deidara's room. Deidara moved down here because he claimed the memories in the other room were to overwhelming," Pein said. I nodded and opened the next door. Nothing attacked me this time. It was like a greenhouse. There were many plants in the room. Some I recognized, others I didn't. Some I knew were poisonous.

"That was Zetsu's room. I always thought he was kinda creepy. And the next room is mine," Pein said, walking to the next door. He opened it and entered, me following. I gasped at the size of the room. There was a small office like room when you first walk in, then at the back of the room was another door heading to the bedroom portion. It was so huge. There was a king bed near the back of the room, a nightstand beside it. A dresser stood along one wall along with what looked like a personal library. There was a walk in closet too. There was even a bathroom attached!

"I call shower!" I said, taking my pack from the floor and running to the bathroom.

"Damn... I wanted to shower first," Pein grumbled from behind the now closed door. I giggled and started the water.

* * *

Authoresses Notes: YAYNESS! I'm not procrastinating! BREAKING DAWN COMES OUT IN TWO DAYS!! Sorry... I'm a big Twilight Saga fan. Thanks again to all those who reviewed ect. More coming your way if you keep reading!


	7. Chapter 6 Memories

Authoresses Note: Heh heh... Ms. Dragon demanded more Pein-sama yet again... So here it is!! -sniffle- I miss Sasori and Deidara! And for all you Twilight fans out there: OMG!! BREAKING DAWN IS OUT!! YESH!! IT'S SO GOOD!! I already finished it...

Ok... I'm done now... Anyway... Vote in my poll! And our special guest is... -drumroll- Eh... -whispers something to someone- Well... He's not here yet... And... there he is! OH MY GOD!! SASORI'S ALIVE! -faints-

Sasori: -sweat drop- Eh... Sorry I'm late... Fangirls were chasing me... No... I'm not alive... Just alive here for a little while... -pokes Flicker-

Me: Oi! I'm back from Dreamland and... OH MY GOD IT WASN'T A DREAM!! -fangirl squeal-

Sasori: Crap... Not another fangirl... I already had to avoid a crowd on my way over here...

Pein: Come join us in the anti-fangirl/boy bubble!

Me: NO! Sasori has to do the disclaimer first!

Sasori: Fine! Flicker doesn't own any Naruto characters. If she did, Itachi Deidara and I would be alive and Sasuke would be dead. And the Akatsuki would totally take over the world just to crush the hopes of the Ninja Villages. But Flicker does own Aiko, though Leader-sama begs to differ. -enters the anti-fangirl/boy bubble-

Me: :D Yay! Now I have two drop dead smexy Akatsuki members in my hideout! (God I'm such a schizo for thinking they're alive...)

* * *

Aiko's Point of View:

I finished my shower quickly and changed. I left some hot water for Pein. I opened the door and looked around the room. It felt good to be clean again. Pein glanced up from doing something and smirked, almost running to the bathroom. I suppressed a giggle. I decided to read a book from the personal library. I scanned the books for something remotely interesting. I almost missed the red book and had to do a double take. I carefully pulled it out and tried to find some sort of title. I found one, but it was so faded, I couldn't read it. I opened to the first page and started to read. 'Good plot...' I thought.

The next thing I heard was Pein coming out from his shower. He took one look at me and the book and started to laugh. I jumped.

"Why are you laughing?" I asked. I frowned.

"I'm laughing at what you're reading," he snickered. I looked at him in confusion.

"That's Icha Icha Paradise!" he said, snickering again. My eyes went wide. I glanced at the book.

"What? No! It can't be... I was not just reading, and enjoying that!" I hissed, throwing the book away from me like it was poison. Pein laughed harder.

"You enjoyed it?" He laughed. I blushed and made a few hand signs. A small fire burned from my finger tips and started to burn the book. Pein snickered. I blushed deeper and stopped the fire when it had burned the book. I threw the ashes out the window and sat on the bed, a different book in hand. It was one on various water jutsus. Suddenly something came back to me. My eyes widened at the newly found memory.

* * *

_"Ai-chan! Come back! Ai-chan!" I heard behind me. No. I couldn't go back. I wouldn't go back. Not after what they did. Not after what they said they would do. I had to get away from them. How could they do this to a 12 year old! I was just a kid! That didn't mean they could take the last thing that I held dear to me. I knew they would come for me. My friends. Come to bring me back to the village. Where I would be killed. It was better to survive alone. Find somewhere where I could train and grow stronger. I had too. And I had to get out of this country soon. Before they sent the ANBU. I was going to be a missing-nin. A nukenin. One who abandoned their village. No. The village abandoned me. Even sensai abandoned me. Thought I was a failure at being a kunoichi. I wasn't that weak. I could beat most people in a spar. But no, they wouldn't listen. I sped up, knowing they wouldn't be able to keep up with this pace. Unless they had him on the chase too. I didn't think so. He was busy. I made my escape at the right time. Crap. The trees stopped. That meant I had to run. That was ok. The part that wasn't good was because they could see me if I wasn't fast enough. Especially if they had him with them. I hit the ground without a sound and started to run._

_"Aiko! Please! I need to talk," said a voice. Close. Much to close. I glanced back to see a black haired boy with blue eyes. Shit. Kazuki was following me. He was a prodigy. Shit. I ran faster._

_"Get away from me!" I growled. He started running after me. _

_"Aiko please! Come back! The village needs you! Your friends need you! I need you!" he shouted. I snorted. He needed me. What a bunch of bullshit. He had a family, sensai's that taught him jutsu, and many more friends than I did._

_"You need me! Please. No one needs me. No one! Got that? And I want no one!" I shouted back. He faltered in step a little._

_"If you won't come back... I'm coming with you!" he said. No. He couldn't come with. I didn't drag anyone else into this. I took a deep breath._

_"I'm sorry Kazuki..." I whispered. He had to hear this so he wouldn't come back for me._

_"Kazuki. Go back to that hell hole that you call Konohagakure and tell them I'm not coming back. Never. And if you try to follow me, I'll be forced to kill you," I growled. He looked like he was just told his whole family was killed. _

_"And tell them they can take their damn headband back!" I growled, taking the head band off my arm and took a kunai out. I slashed the leaf symbol and threw it back at Kazuki. Kazuki picked the headband up and stopped running after me. I quickly left him behind. I couldn't sense the squad sent after me anymore. I took out a special chakra enhancing pill and ate it. There were more trees up ahead and I jumped up to one of the branches. I had to escape. And so far it was working. As long as he didn't come after me. He being Hokage-sama. He was the only one who could catch me now. Even if he started now. That damn jutsu of his was troublesome. Great. Now I was starting to sound like Shikaku... I closed my eyes to look out for any chakra signatures._

_Then he appeared. Shit. He was coming fast. It was him. Damn it. And I was so close too! Just another hour of running and I would be across the border. I took another chakra enhancing pill and started to run faster, pumping chakra into my legs. He was using that stupid jutsu. Damn. If I was lucky, I would be able to out run him when his chakra depleted. Luck was not on my side today. I jumped down from the trees, as they were ending again, and sprinted. His chakra signature faded and then appeared in front of me. Damn. He got in front of me. Shit. I could try to get around him. Shit. He was drawing another one of those kunai. Fuck. He grabbed my arm. I tried to get away, but he was too strong. Damn. Great. Today was the day I died._

_"Aiko..." he started, but trailed off._

_"Hokage-sama..." I muttered, lowering my eyes. He seemed to frown._

_"Don't call me that. It makes me feel more important than I am," he said._

_"Gomen Minato-sensai," I said. He smiled just a little._

_"Why are you leaving Ai-chan?" he asked, using that stupid nickname. Stupid village. Stupid friends. Stupid life._

_"Because... They're going to kill me... I overheard the elders talking about it," I said, tears rolling down my face. I didn't want to die._

_"Hai... I know... I tried to stop them, but they out-voted me, but there is a way... But I don't think you'll like it," he said. I looked up at him, my blue eyes hopeful._

_"I'll do anything Minato-sensai," I said, barely over a whisper. His gaze softened._

_"I'll erase your memory of your personal life and destroy all of your records and you can survive in the world as a lone ninja," he said. I thought about it for a minute. I had to do anything._

_"Please Minato-sensai... Would you really do that for me?" I asked, the tears rolling again. He nodded, letting go of my arm and messing with my hair. I threw my arms around his waist._

_"Arigato Minato-sensai!" I said. He smiled, and messed with me hair more._

_"You're welcome Ai-chan," he whispered, performing some hand seals and gently touched my forehead. Everything about my life vanished. It was just me and my skills. Nothing else. I forgot everything about Konohagakure, Minato-sensai, my friends, anything having to do with Konoha. It was just my ninja skills I had now. I realized how tired I was and wondered why I was hugging a strange blond haired man with a look of guilt in his blue eyes. I quickly dropped my arms. I yawned and climbed the nearest tree and started to fall asleep on a branch. I looked at the blond haired man through my eye lashes._

_"I'll never forget you Aiko," he whispered. But I couldn't hear it. A moment later he was gone. And I was alone. Utterly alone._

* * *

Authors Note: Sorry It was such a short chapter, but it was a much needed one! Aiko's past, well why she left her village, which so happened to be Konoha. And Minato-kun is in it! Yay for Minato-kun! Not much Pein-sama in this chapter, but next chapter there will be! :D Check out my new story, Missing! dodges bricks from readers of both Bitter Resentment and this one I'm sorry! I forget good ideas if I don't write them down!! I promise I won't start another story until I finish one of these other ones. I hope... gets hit in the head by one of the bricks Ow... Until next time!


	8. Chapter 7 Art's a Bang

Authors Note: Wow! Thanks again to all those who reviewed/favorite-ed/alerted! You guys are best! :D Here's the next chapter, with Pein-sama! And the Return of the Dead!! -scary music- Uh... Deidara! Do the disclaimer.

Deidara: ? I'm not even in this story... Why should I do it?

Me: Because Sasori did it last time! And... -insert spoiler of this chapter here-

Deidara: Fine... Flicker doesn't own any of the Naruto characters, if she did then her OCs would be in the series, Sasuke would be dead, Sasori, Itachi, and I would be alive, The Akatsuki would take over the world, and I would be able to blow anything in the world up. But she does own Aiko, though Leader-sama is trying to make a bargain...

Pein: Oh no! The fangirls/boys are coming! To the anti-fangirl/boy bubble! -everyone runs to the anti-fangirl/boy bubble-

Me: ... Crap. Why do they always do that when I'm trying to get their autographs?

* * *

Pein's Point of View:

I glanced at Aiko. She hadn't moved in the last two minutes.

"Uh... Aiko?" I asked. She just stared. I waved a hand in front of her face.

"Aiko... Are you ok?" I asked. A moment later she burst into tears. I was startled. What the hell?

"Aiko... What's wrong?" I asked. She glanced up at me.

"They came after me. They tried to make me stay. They... killed the only thing close to me and then tried to make me come back to that horrid village," she sobbed. I stroked her hair and lifted her up and walked to the bed.

"Shh... It's ok... I'm here, that's all you need. They aren't anything anymore... You're here with me," I whispered in her ear, laying her down on the bed. She gave a small smile.

"Arigato... Pein-sama..." she whispered. I walked to the other side of the bed and sat down. We needed new clothes. I bet the villagers would make us some. We would go shopping tomorrow. We also needed food. But we could do that tomorrow. For now, we should sleep. I pulled the blankets back and unhooked my Akatsuki cloak and threw it at a chair. Aiko yawned and crawled under the covers too. I grinned evilly. After a few moments, I grabbed Aiko around the waist and pulled her closer to me.

"Pein-sama!" she squeaked, surprised. I smirked. But she didn't wriggle away. I smirked again.

"I win," I whispered in her ear. She rolled her eyes.

"You always win Pein-sama..." she muttered, yawning and drifting off to sleep. I smirked. Of course I always won.

* * *

Aiko's Point of View:

_Running. Always Running. Have to keep running. Can't let them catch up. Running. Shit. A cliff. Can't run. Have to fight. Have to win. Here they come. Water jutsu. Lightning. Two down, thirteen to go. He takes out three. Ten more. Throw kunai. Dodge Earth Jutsu. They're getting us closer to the cliff. Poison Mist. Three more down. Seven left. More kunai and shruiken. He takes out another three. Four more. More lightning. More water. Another down. Getting low on chakra. Two left now. We're both low on chakra. Damn. Got hit by kunai. No more left. Cliff right behind me. Where is our back up? That's right. No back up. Just us. On edge of cliff now. Two still left. Too low on chakra for another jutsu. No more kunai or shruiken. Lucky to be alive. They double team me. Swords. Why didn't I get one at the last town? Death awaits me. But it never comes. He's in front of me. Bleeding. Shocked. Slipping, falling. Falling. Hitting the water. Darkness is all I see._

I woke up out of breath. Just a dream. It was just a dream. But I felt it was something more. It was morning now. Pein was already up. Yawning I got up and stumbled to the kitchen. Pein was eating instant ramen. What a good breakfast, not. Seeing as there was nothing else in the pantry, I made instant ramen too.

"We need to get some more food..." I muttered.

"I know... We can get some new clothes too," Pein said. I nodded. One of my outfits was beyond repair and I was wearing my only spare. After the three minutes were up I started to eat the ramen.

"If I eat any more instant ramen, I think I'll puke..." I muttered after I was done. Pein rolled his eyes.

"Let's go," he said, putting on his Akatsuki cloak. I nodded and grabbed my black traveling cloak. We walked into the market area. All the villagers looked at us and started to shout for 'God' to come look at their wares.

"I'll get the food, you get the clothes..." I muttered. Pein nodded and went off to another part of the market. I made my way to a stand with fresh fruit and vegetables.

"Ah! You're the Miss who appeared with God! Here is my freshest fruit and vegetables, free of charge!" the merchant said. Damn that was a lot of fruit. I smiled.

"Arigato, but please accept this donation," I said, handing a paper note over. The merchant wanted to give it back but nodded. I moved on to the meat stand. I looked at the meat and decided to ask for chicken and beef. Again the merchant gave it for free. Again I gave them a donation that would have covered the pay of the things I bought. Now all I needed was flour. I gazed around and spotted a stand with various random things on it. I walked over there.

"Do you happen to have a few bags of flour?" I asked. The merchant nodded and gave them to me for free, yet again. Now that I had all the food, I decided to look around at the various trinkets and stuff. I found a small stand of clay sculptures. They were very well done.

"How did you make these so... so beautiful?" I asked, holding a little clay sculpture of a bird.

"Years of practice, yeah," the merchant said. I glanced at the merchant. According to the voice, it was male, though he look like a woman. His blond hair was covering one of his eyes, and in a ponytail. His visible eye was a very pretty shade of blue. I glanced back down at the sculptures. One caught my eye. It was a sort of dragon like thing spiraling up into the sky. I set the bird sculpture down and picked up the dragon sculpture.

"You like it?" he asked. I nodded. He smiled.

"How much is it?" I asked, getting out my wallet. I wouldn't take it's free for an answer anymore. He smiled.

"Take it for free, not because you're some royalty or something here, but because you're pretty, yeah" he said. I narrowed my eyes.

"I'm tired of not paying anything, but I'll take this for free because you actually have a valid reason to give it to me for free," I said. The merchant laughed.

"I wouldn't think a woman would say that, un" he commented. I rolled my eyes.

"Why do you talk like that?"

"Like what, un?"

"Saying un and yeah all the time,"

"Habit, yeah," I giggled. It was kinda cute the way he said yeah and un all the time. I felt a familiar chakra signature coming up behind me.

"You're already done Pein-sama?" I asked, surprised he took that fast. The merchant seemed to freeze.

"I know the best places around here, and..." he trailed off. I tilted my head, confused.

"What's wrong?" I asked. The merchant spoke first.

"L...Leader-sama?" he muttered. I gazed at him. Leader-sama? Was this one of the Akatsuki? Impossible, they were all dead.

"Deidara? I thought you died!" Pein said, surprised. The merchant, er... Deidara, shook his head.

"I woke up in a hospital in some little town, un" he said. Ok... So this was one of the Akatsuki. Pein gazed at the sculptures.

"They won't explode will they?" he asked. Deidara laughed and shook his head no.

"That wouldn't be very good for business would it, yeah?" he said. I laughed.

"I have been looking for a place to..." but I interrupted Deidara.

"Of course you can stay with us!" I said. Pein glanced at me with a look saying, 'are you crazy?'. I laughed again.

"Please Pein-sama, Deidara's funny and a nice guy," I pleaded, giving Pein the puppy eyes. He glared at me but I could see him caving in.

"Fine... But he's paying for the damages he does," Pein said. I grinned.

"I'm Aiko by the way," I said to Deidara. He nodded.

"I'm going to see if I can sell any more of these then I'll come up, yeah," he said. I nodded and turned to Pein.

"What clothes did you buy for me?" I asked. He smirked his 'I know something you don't know,' smirk. I groaned.

"You'll see..." he said. I waved at Deidara and Pein and I started back to the base.

* * *

Authors Notes: MUHAHAHAHA!! CLIFF HANGER SORT OF!! Stay tuned for the next chapter! By the way... This weekend I'll be in Arizona, next weekend at a sleep over, and then school starts. I'll try and get another chapter in before school starts!


	9. Chapter 8 The Second Attack

Authors Notes: Hia! This'll probably be the last chapter before school starts... -sniffle- Then I won't have as much time to update!

Deidara: I can't believe you brought me into this story...

Me: Quiet you! Who's turn is it to do the disclaimer?

Deidara: I think it was Kakuzu's...

Kakuzu: WTF? Where did I come from?

Deidara: You got resurrected... All the Akatsuki did... At least in Flicker's stories... -every other Akatsuki member groans-

Me: I'm not that bad! Kakuzu, just do the disclaimer.

Kakuzu: -sigh- Fine. Flicker doesn't own any of the Naruto characters. Pein owns Aiko.

Me: No. I own Aiko... -Pein shows me papers that says he owns Aiko- O-O Where in hell did you get those?

* * *

Aiko's Point of View:

We arrived back at the base to wait for Deidara to sell the rest of his clay statues.

"So... What clothes did you buy me?" I asked Pein again. Pein smirked and dug around in the bag.

"Standard ninja pants, some fishnet undershirts, blue and gray shirts, and new sandals. Oh and two cloaks too," he said. I gazed at the items. I would use all of them, they were pretty standard ninja wear. The cloaks were the Akatsuki cloaks, red clouds and everything. I slipped one on and marveled at how comfortable it was. I switched my worn out sandals for the newer ones. I checked the sizes on the tags.

"How did you know my size?" I asked. Pein rolled his eyes.

"I checked your old pants and shirts," he said. I nodded. Then I noticed how dirty this place looked.

"Jeez... Do you people ever clean around here?" I said, rummaging around for a broom. When I finally found one, I started to sweep. Then I got a better idea. I made a bunch of Kage Bushin and we all started sweeping.

"Never thought to clean that way..." Pein muttered. I sweatdropped. Were men always this stupid? I sighed and let the kage bushins disappear. A moment later the door opened and Deidara can in. Trailing dirt and mud. I groaned.

"Baka... I just got finished cleaning..." I muttered, finding a mop and started to mop up the mud.

"Oh... whoops... Gomen..." Deidara muttered, clearly know not to piss me off. I sighed. Living with two men was going to be a nightmare. I finished cleaning up and went to go fix myself something to eat.

* * *

Strike the living with two men statement. It was living with an overgrown child and a man who didn't give a shit about what said overgrown child did. On the other hand, I did. Over the course of twenty minutes, Deidara managed to blow up part of the building that was halfway rebuilt. Pein got kinda angry at that because he was working on rebuilding part of the base. Another two minutes later and he blew up the training grounds behind the base. I sighed. And the worst part was, I cleaned his room for him. He didn't deserve that. It had been another hour without interruptions.

"Hey Aiko!" Deidara called. I looked up from the jutsu scroll I was attempting to understand.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Do you know how to work an ove..." he was cut off by the fire that started in his pan. My eyes widened.

"Get the hell out of the way!" I said, pushing the blond out of the way. He fell over.

"Suiton!" I said, running through a few handsigns. A blast of water fell on top of the fire and put it out. I sighed in relief. Luckily the food wasn't burnt too bad. Deidara stood up and poked the food.

"Perfect yeah!" he said, popping one of the vegetables in his mouth. I sighed.

"You could have set the whole building on fire..." I muttered. I tried one of the vegetables. They were really really good.

"What did you put on these?" I asked, having another. Deidara shrugged.

"A bunch of spices, thats all, yeah," he said. I shrugged.

"Well... Make it again if I ever don't want to cook," I said, grabbing a plate and scooping a fair portion onto my plate. Pein came in the room and sniffed the air.

"It smells like something burned in here," he said, grabbing a plate and taking some of the vegetables too. He tried one and nodded.

"This is good," he said, eating another one. I nodded and dug into my own portion. After the makeshift dinner I went back to studying the scroll.

"Need help?" Pein asked. I looked up.

"Yeah... It's this Water Jutsu... Suiton: Suigadan," I said. I knew what to do, but I didn't know how much water I needed and such things like that. Pein thought for a moment.

"I know the perfect place to practice," he said, grabbing my hand. We poofed away to a lake a ways away from the base. We walked onto the water and then Pein faced me.

"Create a water bushin," he instructed. I did. He started to perform a few hand signs. I watched closely and remembered the ones he used. The water erupted into water spikes that crushed my water clone. I took note of about how much chakra was used.

"Try it yourself," he said, creating a water bushin. I nodded and performed the hand signs. I observed how the jutsu was different from Pein's. Mine was smaller, but just as crushing. And not as fast.

"Good job," he said.

"Arigato," I said. I froze, sensing something strange beneath the water. I focused my mind and attempted to pick up any chakra signatures. I felt one then it disappeared. A quick analysis of the chakra signature told me it was at least Jonin level. It was also familiar. Pein noticed my concentration.

"Hatake is back, I'm not sure... Wait... That blond haired gaki is with him too... He's not concealing his chakra very well. The pink haired one might be with them, she has great chakra control so I can't sense her if she's here. The dark haired one is not here though," I muttered. Pein cursed. Suddenly the water felt heavier.

"GET OFF THE WATER NOW!" I screamed, jumping away. Pein followed a millisecond behind. We landed on the banks. I felt Hatake's chakra surge for a moment, then fade again. I started to think. Obviously Hatake knew we were going to dodge that, I mean who couldn't? That only meant... My eyes widened.

"Duck, now," I whispered to Pein. We both hit the ground just as the pink haired girl flew above us, her hands in fists. The tree behind us cracked and fell into another tree. Pein muttered something I couldn't hear and gazed around the clearing. I concentrated on the blond gaki's chakra signature. No... Wait... Two signatures... Kage Bushin. Only two though... So that meant... Pein stiffened beside me. He must have figured it too from the expression on my face. Now the blond gaki was coming fast behind us. But the pink haired one was above us, waiting for us to jump up. Hatake disappeared into the tress, probably a few meters away in the trees. Pein whispered an idea into my ear. I nodded. A moment before the blond gaki's jutsu hit us, I switched with a water bushin I made. Pein also switched. We sunk into the water quickly to hide.

"Rasengan!" the blond gaki yelled, and our clones burst into water. I had a good view of Hatake from this angle. He looked confused even with his sharigan on.  
We were really that fast? I surprised even myself. Looks like we were going to have to fight. Won't these idiots ever leave us alone?

* * *

Authors Notes: Yes I know it's short... Deal with it! For people who haven't seen my updated profile, I am going to have a sequel to this story. No Paper Flowers isn't over yet. I'm just warning you that the ending I have is going to get a hell of a lot of flames. I just know it. Anyway... I'm still thinking of what to call the sequel but I have a pretty good idea. Just to warn you, this story is over halfway done. I'm not sure how many more chapters there will be, but I know what I'm going to write. Now all I have to do is actually write it... Until Next time!


	10. Chapter 9 The ANBU

Authors Notes: Hi again! I actually got another chapter out before school! Yay! Just to remind you, there will be a sequel to this story, though the end will get many flames, I'm sure of that... Especially from fellow Pein lovers. Aw damn... I said too much. Well I want to keep the surprise, so someone do the disclaimer before I say anymore!

Konan: Fine, I'll do the disclaimer.

Pein: Wait... What? How are you alive?

Aiko: Holy shit. I really do look like her don't I?

Me: Just do the disclaimer...

Konan: Flicker doesn't own of the Naruto characters, and Pein owns Aiko...

Me: Stop with the Pein owns Aiko stuff... It's not true... -glares at Pein-

* * *

Aiko's Point of View:

Damn damn damn. Why won't these idiots ever leave us alone? I glanced over to Pein. He was thinking, I could tell. I focused on the chakra signatures above the water. Hatake was still in the trees, waiting. The blond gaki moved to the trees beside Hatake. That pink haired girl was up in the trees too, but not by the others. That's odd. If they were planning, then why were only two of the three together. Hmm... I needed a better place to concentrate, expand my field of chakra sensing. Not to mention I was running out of air. But how would I be able to concentrate when I would have people attacking me? The answer was simple. Kage Bushin. I glanced back at Pein. He was throwing kunai at the trees. Genius. They would come to the water, then we would jump out and attack. I started doing hand signs. This needed to be a big Water Dragon. Once finishing the 42nd seal, way too much in my opinion, the Konoha nin were at the edge of the lake. Putting a fair amount of chakra into the attack, the water dragon rose up and sped towards the Konoha nin. Pein and I jumped out of the water and to the opposite side of the lake. Something was off though. The water dragon managed to hit the blond gaki and I glanced at Pein.

"You take the blond gaki. He has tons of chakra. The other two have smaller reserves but they are more refined attacks. Plus Hatake has Lightning as his main elemental chakra, which is mine too. The pink haired one is a medic, but can pack a really hard punch. She must have great chakra control, meaning she probably is good with Genjutsu's, and my specialty is ninjutsu," I said. I know it probably isn't a smart move for Pein to fight the blond gaki, but he's the only one who can keep up with all that chakra. Which meant that I would be fighting Hatake and the pink haired girl. Great. But one question remained. How could we separate the groups?

* * *

I still couldn't shake the feeling something was off. Pein managed to lure the blond gaki away from Hatake and pinky. I quickly made a shadow clone and had it hide in the trees. That took half my remaining chakra, so I had to use mostly Taijutsu to beat them. I would wear them out first. Hatake did some hand signs and sunk into the ground. I jumped up to the trees, knowing he was underground. Meanwhile, pinky was forming a genjutsu. I quickly dispelled the genjutsu, not giving her enough time to plan. She raised her hand and punched the ground, forming another lake. There goes my training ground... I felt Hatake's chakra signature behind me and ducked just in time to miss his lightning jutsu. As he was flying over, I reached out and caught his wrist with the lightning jutsu. He looked surprised. Did he think I was an idiot? When I dodged, I saw him start to turn around and quickly changed my plan, before his Sharingan sensed it. Hatake was now standing in front of me, his wrist still in my grip. I took my other hand and plunged in into the lightning jutsu. His eyes widened as I took his jutsu from his control.

"How did you do that?" he muttered as I let the jutsu disappeared. I glared at him.

"When you handle lightning jutsu like I do, you learn things," I said, bringing my hand back. Focusing chakra into my fist, I punched Hatake in the chest, letting him go flying. It certainly not as hard as pinky, but it held some punch. Pinky ran over to Hatake and started to heal him. Good. Let them waste their chakra. Suddenly my eyes widened. My shadow clone disappeared. The memories came flooding back a moment later.

* * *

_I sat in the trees, focusing on the chakra signatures. The blond gaki and Pein were battling, normal enough. The blond gaki was even getting a hit or two on Pein, impressive. Hatake and pinky were battling the other me. They were battling normal enough, but they still had a lot of chakra left. Hatake came with some jutsu and missed. I turned my attention away from the fighting and focused behind me. Wait... Three chakra signatures. One was enormous, blue with just a little tint of red, that was the blond gaki it had to be, dark blue, Hatake probably, and blue-green, pinky by the looks of it. But if they were fighting... I decided to go check it out. Hiding in the trees I spied at what they were planning. It was shadow clones, no wonder Hatake's and pinky's signatures seemed depleted a bit. They were planning. I focused chakra into my ears and attempted to listen in._

_"Kaka-sensai... Why are we going after them without Sai?" the blond gaki asked._

_"Because it's our mission and we need to capture them," Hatake said. Suddenly I felt an eerily familiar chakra signature. No... It couldn't be him. Yes... It was. I subconsciously shivered when he came into view. It was an ANBU. But I knew better. It was that idiot who tried to stop me from leaving. I narrowed my eyes and attempted to listen in._

_"Hatake-san, I have arrived on the account of the Hokage to assist in taking back one of your targets," he said. _

_"Auburn haired one right?" Hatake asked. The ANBU shook his head._

_"No. The blue haired one. Aiko," he said. Wait... He was coming for me? That was different._

_"The blue haired one? Why?" Hatake said._

_"She is an A ranked Missing Nin from Konoha who left when the 4th was Hokage," the ANBU said. Kakashi narrowed his eyes in thought._

_"I remember now. I was only 12 at that time, and on a mission, I wonder how the trail went cold for so long," Hatake said. The ANBU shrugged. I carefully withdrew three kunai and threw them at the shadow clones. The clones disappeared, leaving the ANBU alone._

_"Come out!" he shouted. I complied. His gaze narrowed. "You," he hissed, drawing a kunai. I smirked._

_"Good to see you too, but right now it's my time to leave," I said, releasing the shadow clone._

* * *

I narrowed my eyes. If he was here, we would need Deidara. A Jonin and two Chunin weren't that hard, but throw an ANBU in there and it would be harder. Especially because one of them was the Kyuubi container and another was a medic. Great. I needed to contact Pein somehow. Then I remembered the ring he gave me, saying that I could contact him if needed. While Hatake and pinky were talking, I was concentrating.

_'Pein... We need to get back now... An ANBU's here, and he's after me. There may also be more ANBU's. Maybe a Hunter Nin, I couldn't tell.' _I thought, hoping it would work. Thankfully, it did. There was some colorful cursing in my head. _'Pein-sama... Please stop cursing in my head...' _I thought as my ring glowed a tiny bit. He apologized and that he would meet me and to dodge all of pinky and Hatake's attacks until then. Good thing Hatake and pinky weren't attack right now... I launched a few kunai in their direction. The barely dodged, and pinky got a scratch on her arm.

"I don't like to be ignored," I informed them. Pinky glared at me and healed her scratch. A moment later Pein's chakra signature was near me. "But for now, I bid you ado," I said, poofing away. I was next to Pein now.

"Let's go," he said. I nodded and followed him back to the base.

"I'm tired, I'm going to bed," I said, not wanting to put up with Deidara's antics and because focusing on chakra signatures is really hard work. He nodded as I went off for our room. Once I was alone I scowled. Why did he have to come? Why not someone else? Deciding to forget all of that for now, I quickly changed and crawled into bed.

I almost didn't notice when there was body heat behind me and someone holding me tight. A small smile rested on my face as I fell asleep to Pein whispering in my ear.

* * *

Authors Notes: Thanks for reading!! I really like how this story's turning out! The next chapter will revel who the mysterious ANBU is!

Anyone who guesses right gets a virtual cookie! Until next time!


	11. Chapter 10 The begining of the end

Authors Notes: School has officially started. Ugh... Somehow I found time to type! Sorry if this chapter is short... It's kinda important though... You could say it was _foreshadowing _the ending. Uh... Tenten! Do the disclaimer!

Tenten: Sure! Flicker doesn't own Naruto characters, but does own Lily, Emi, and Rose.

Me: Thank Kami-sama... Someone who listens to me for once!

Hidan: You shouldn't be thanking Kami-sama, you should be thanking Jashin-sama!

Me: O-O Alright Hidan... -eyes scythe-

* * *

Aiko's Point of View:

I was asleep one moment, jumping out bed the next. Something exploded near my head. I held a kunai and glanced around. Deidara was at the door, trying to hold in laughter. I glared at him. That asshole.

"Deidara... You better run," I growled, stomping over to where he stood. His eyes widened.

"Shit un..." he muttered, trying to escape. Unfortunately for him, I caught his cloak.

"This is what you get for waking me up with an explosive device!" I growled, punching his head. He winced. I continued to beat him up. I would have done more damage if Pein hadn't come in at that moment.

"Uh... Aiko?" he asked, sounding a little scared. I stopped beating up Deidara. He scampered away.

"Yes?" I asked sweetly.

"Why were you beating up Deidara?" he asked.

"Because he woke me up by almost exploding my head," I answered.

"Ah... I see," Pein said, letting the subject drop. Apparently he didn't want to get beaten up. I yawned and walked to the bathroom to start the shower. I finished my shower and quickly changed so I could eat breakfast. I got to the kitchen and took an apple and started to eat. Something was wrong. It was silent. Too silent. I concentrated and felt the near by chakra signatures. Pein, in his office, Deidara, in his room. And one more. My eyes flew open. Someone was right outside the base. And I knew that person's chakra. Seeing as no one was going to stop him, I walked towards the nearest exit. Thankfully my sleep restored most of my chakra reserves. I grabbed my cloak and slipped it on. I grabbed a few extra kunai and added them into my supply. I also grabbed my hat, knowing it would be raining out. I stepped out into the rain and started towards where the chakra signature was.

* * *

I gazed at the one who I met so long ago. The one who tried to stop me. The one I had broken his heart and soul. He now had an ANBU mask on, but he still had his black hair. I couldn't see his eyes, but I knew they were blue, like the ocean. He was alone, no backup around, he came here willingly. Why would he come here willingly? To be killed? No. _He_ wasn't that kind of person. That wasn't how he would want to die. No. The person I knew as Kazuki, the shinobi who tried to save me, was different than that. Or so I thought. He saw me coming. I could tell he had barely any weapons on him. Even the standard ANBU weapons were gone. He had left them? Something was up.

"Why are you here?" I asked him, my hat shrouding my face. Not that it would matter, my voice would be enough to know who I was. He gazed at me from behind his mask.

"Aiko..." he whispered, his voice laced with sadness and guilt. "I have a favor to ask," he said. I blinked. A favor?

"What is it?"

"I want you to..." he paused.

"Yes?"

"I want you to kill me,"

"Nani?"

"You heard me. I want you to kill me. I have nothing to live for. Nothing,"

"No. I will not do that,"

"Please Aiko!"

"No,"

"Why? Are you scared?" That ticked me off a bit.

"No Kazuki. I will not kill you willingly. I refuse to. If you were attacking me, then maybe I would consider it. But no. I will not kill you," I growled.

"If you won't kill me, then I'll have to kill the thing closest to you," he said. I raised an eyebrow. Kill the thing closest to me? What a stupid threat.

"I said this to you years ago Kazuki. Good bye. Go back to that hell hole of a village called Konohagakure. And tell them that Aiko will never come back, willingly or forced. I will never set foot in that village again. Now get out of my sight," I said. Kazuki sighed and poofed away.

I never stopped to think that Kazuki would come back to haunt me again. Or even go through with his promise. Maybe I should have thought about his offer to me. Kill him or he will kill the closest thing to me. I should have taken his offer. Then maybe I wouldn't be in the mess that was to come.

* * *

Authors Note: DUH DUH DUH!! Thus the beginning of the end of Paper Flowers! This story is coming to a close, only a few more chapters left. At the most five chapters are left, but I think I'll try and make it two more chapters and the prologue to the story's sequel. I don't want to give the name, because it's sort of a spoiler. Again, sorry for the short chapter. But it was necessary! Until next time!


	12. Chapter 11 Paper Flowers

Authors Notes: Holy Jashin! It's the last chapter before the epiloge!! And why did I just say Holy Jashin? O-O Oh No! Hidan's influencing me! NOOOOOOOO!!

Hidan: And that's a bad thing? -smirks sexily-

Me: Yes. -gulps-

Hidan: -face falls- FINE! I'LL GO AWAY AND NEVER RETURN! -sniff-

Me: Jeez... Are you PMSing or something?

Hidan: NO!

Me: O-O Uh... Kakashi! Do the disclaimer!

Kakashi: Flicker doesn't own the Naruto characters, she does own Aiko though... -eye smile-

Pein: -is pissed off cause he doesn't own Aiko anymore-

* * *

Aiko's Point of View:

_A week after Kazuki disappeared_

No. How did this happen. Impossible. That idiot Deidara... Blowing up the base! Stupid art... I stared at the ruins that was the Akatsuki base. Pein was in shock. He knew it was going to happen soon enough, but not this way. Deidara chewed on his lip.

"Deidara," I muttered.

"Yeah un?" he asked.

"Most of my weapons were in there. And also the rest of my clothes," I growled. Oh he was so going down!

"Eh... Gomannasai Aiko-chan... yeah..." he muttered. I turned and glared at him with the 'I am going to fucking kill you' glare. He gulped and started backing away. Even Pein edged away from me.

"Run little bomber, run," I dared, hissing. Oh, Deidara ran alright. And I chased after him, throwing the last of my kunai and shruiken at him. I would buy more. Thank Kami-sama that I kept my money in my cloak. After a few minutes of cat and mouse, I got bored and gave the finger to Deidara. He sheepishly grinned and offered to buy me a new set of weapons. All three of us went to the store, dodging citizens of Ame, and bought a new set of weapons for me. I restocked my supply and started off to the ninja clothing and travel supply store, letting Pein lead the way. After picking a few outfits, another solid black cloak, and a good supply of solider pills, I started to hand the right amount of money to the cashier, this store required everyone to pay (Pein didn't mind, he didn't shop much), Pein grabbed my wrist and handed over a wad of paper bills. I stared at him. He smirked and winked at me. I blushed and grabbed my stuff and stuffed in a rather large pocket in the cloak. No wonder these cloaks were so thick, there were tons of pockets. I guess that meant we were traveling to another base now... I missed the sun. It rarely was sunny in Amegakure. Maybe we could go the Fire Country. Not Konoha... The outskirts of the Fire Country. The Fire Country was very nice I do have to admit.

* * *

"Pein-sama... Can't we stop just for a bit?" I whined. I was tired and I already ate most of my solider pills. We had been traveling non-stop for at least three days now. Deidara was up above, flying on his clay bird, scouting for us. Pein sighed.

"Fine... The base is still a few days away though," he said. I groaned. Stupid base. We jumped down from the trees into a clearing. Deidara landed nearby, looking a little tired from using a lot of his chakra to steer the clay bird. I yawned and took a solider pill from my pack. I ate it and decided to scout the area for any ANBU or Leaf nin. We were skirting the Fire Country. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the chakra signatures in front of me. There was Pein and Deidara, arguing where the base was on the map. I focused outward. Hmm... Three chakra signatures a ways off, Genin by the feel of it. Probably returning from a mission. A stronger chakra signature was behind them. The Jonin-sensai probably. I yawned again and started to scout the other side. Suddenly I froze. Just a flicker of a chakra signature.

No. More than one signature. 15. Hunter Nin. Heading straight for us. My eyes flew open.

"Pein. Deidara. We need to move now!" I growled. They nodded and Deidara leaped up onto his bird. I shook my head.

"We'll be spotted in that thing, let's move on the ground for now," Pein said. Deidara sighed and the bird blew up in a mini-explosion. I slapped my palm to my face.

"Baka..." I muttered. That would have alerted the Hunter Nin. Pein glared at Deidara.

"Damn...un..." Deidara muttered.

"Just hurry up, we need to get away from them," I muttered. I dashed off into the trees, Pein and Deidara following a moment later. Ok... From my calculations, we were now headed for the shoreline of the Fire Country. Oh perfect. I really didn't want to take this battle to the oceans. I attempted to think of a good plan. Hmm... It was crazy, but it might just work...

* * *

"Hey you sad excuses for Hunter Nin!" 15 masked faces snapped my way. "I'm the one your looking for right?" I asked, smirking. One of them nodded.

"Then you have to catch me!" 8 masked faces glanced to the other side of the clearing where my shadow clone stood. Ok... I guess I got the rookie Hunter Nin today! They didn't sense that one before? Wow... Sad. Pein was somewhere in the trees, about to kill one off right... Now.

On cue a kunai embedded itself in one of the Hunter Nin's heads. Now there should be an explosion... Ah... Here it comes. A white bird fluttered into the clearing. I poofed away to a safe distance and heard the boom. I could still sense about ten. Hmm... A little better than I thought, but whatever. I could clearly see Deidara on his bird now, scouting. Pein's chakra signature flickered a bit away. A signal that everything was going to plan. Good. On instinct I ducked. A millisecond later, a kunai whizzed where my head would have been. Phew. I observed where I was quickly. Near the sea cliffs of the Fire Country border. I unconsciously gulped, remembering my dream. No time for analyzing stupid dreams now. There were still 10... No... Nine now, Hunter Nin left. Three were on me, Four on Pein, and the remaining three were attempting to hit Deidara. Divide and conquer. A very useful technique. I started to leap through the trees, leading my pursuers away. They took the bait. I could feel Pein coming toward me. A moment later, Pein jumped down from the tree tops. Only six following us... Hmm... That means Pein must have killed another one. I glanced at Pein.

"So far so good," he reported. I grinned. My crazy plan was working. I heard another boom and decided Deidara didn't need anymore help. I threw a kunai behind me and smirked at the satisfying thunk it generated. Only five left now. I was too busy concentrating on the plan I didn't see the end of the trees ahead until Pein grabbed my waist and pulled me down to the short clearing before the cliff.

"Be careful..." he muttered, ruffling my hair. I rolled my eyes.

"Gomen gomen..." I muttered, watching the five remaining Hunter Nin land. Damn... Why didn't I take into account that there were cliffs behind us? Ah well... Too bad... Better make this quick. I quickly threw two kunai. They were dodged. Pein engaged in combat with three. I used a water jutsu on the remaining two. One fell for it. One down, four to go.

Pein quickly finished another one. Two left now. I was starting to feel tired. Why did we freaking travel nonstop? I had no solider pills left, and only a quarter of my chakra reserves left. I felt a kunai slice my arm as I dodged. Damn... I'm exhausted. Suddenly I glared at the Hunter Nin Pein was facing. That little fuck-tard...

It was Kazuki. Damn him and all his resources. Damn Konoha. I dodged another kunai and fell in the path of a few shuriken. One tore my cloak away from my body. The other embedded itself into my leg. I glared at the Hunter Nin.

"Fuck you! This was a new cloak you asshole!" I hissed, using precious chakra in a lightning jutsu. Damn... Got to stop with the jutsus. Barely any chakra left. Pein was having a difficult time with Kazuki. I jumped over to him, seeing as I was about to fall off the cliff. He planted a kiss on my forehead and muttered some words. I glanced at him as to say 'that won't ever happen, not yet...' But I couldn't deny his words. I dodged another kunai and a few shuriken. Quickly I planted a kiss on Pein's cheek.

"I love you..." I whispered.

"I love you too Aiko-chan," he muttered, throwing a few kunai at Kazuki. I turned my attention back to the Hunter Nin. I narrowed my eyes and sent a few kunai, which he dodged. But what he didn't expect was that another kunai was in the shadow's of the first two. The third hit right on, in the middle of the chest. He collapsed. I turned back to Pein and... No one? Where did Kazuki go? He was hiding his chakra, I could tell that. I glanced around. I suddenly froze. Quickly I turned.

Only two things registered in my mind at that moment. Kazuki and sword coming straight for my heart. My eyes widened and I didn't, no, couldn't move. He was too close now. I was going to die. I mentally braced myself for impact.

But it never came.

I was stunned to say the least. Pein was in front of me now, the sword through his heart. I only vaguely heard what he said.

"Don't you dare touch my angel you bastard," Then I heard Kazuki's body slump and fall to the ground, a kunai in his heart. Finally I shook off my shocked state and rushed to Pein. He smiled up at me and closed his eyes.

"No... No! Don't you dare die on me Pein!" I screamed, alerting Deidara to where I was. I used what little medical ninjutsu to try and stop the bleeding. Pein caught my wrist.

"Aiko-chan... Don't try... Just remember that I love you forever," he whispered. I stared at him.

"No! No! No! Please! No!" I scream, collapsing onto of him, listening to his fading heart beat. I heard Deidara land and come up beside me. I didn't hear what Pein whispered to Deidara. I couldn't hear anything other than the last beats of his heart. Using the last of his strength, Pein pulled me down into a kiss. A few moments later, he was gone. Tears finally engulfed me.

"No..." I whispered.

"Aiko-chan... Come on...un..." Deidara whispered. I didn't move. When I didn't move Deidara picked me up and I grasped Pein's cloak.

"Wait... Just a second..." I whispered, going through the pockets, and finally coming across the paper flower. I took a piece of paper from my cloak (I didn't know that was in there...) and made a smaller flower. It wasn't as good, but it was good enough. I grasped the paper flowers and let Deidara take me to the bird. We flew up above and Deidara ignited a bomb. The area caught on fire for a second, then subsided.

I looked at the paper flowers in my hands. One, so white and perfect, wasn't mine. The other, white and not quite perfect, was in the other hand. I let the larger perfect white flower drift in the wind. Eventually the wind took it up so high, I lost sight of it. I let the other one float too. This time the wind pushed the flower down, towards the earth. My lip trembled as I thought of how Pein died. Tears still ran down my cheeks. I curled up against Deidara, for he was my only protection from the world now. I thought about the paper flowers. One floated up into the sky, while the other plummeted to earth. How ironic. I realized what those flowers meant.

A love that was destined by the Gods, but tragically cut short. And a love that was not quite forbidden, but unlikely, yet it still worked out. Until the flower decided to stay on the Earth and not in the sky. I let my tears fall down my face. Two loves. Two lives taken. Two unhappy endings.

And two white paper flowers.

* * *

Authors Note: -sniff- I'm sorry, but it had to be done. I'm sorry to all you Pein lovers, I was crying while I wrote the last scene. I hope you all can interpret what I tried to say about the paper flowers. If not, then your out of luck, cause you opinion of the paper flowers is different than mine.


	13. Epilogue Waking Up

Authors Note: -crys- The end of Paper Flowers! Actually... It's more of the beginning of the sequel. Which I won't tell you the title, cause it gives away a bunch... But I think if you are smart, you can kinda figure out something from this... It's kinda short though... I already have the prologue to the sequel written, just need to type it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto... If I did, half the Akatsuki would be alive again...

* * *

Two years. Two years since he died. Two years of pain and depression. Two years of traveling with Deidara. Always running. Avoiding the sea. The sea brings back too many memories. Yet this place did too. Fire Country. Deep in the heart of Fire Country. I had a feeling we were trespassing in this forest. What did I care? I was a Missing-nin anyway. I think we were going to a base to get more clay. For Deidara... He was out of clay again. I'd like to believe it was a short cut, but I seriously doubt that Deidara can read a map correctly... Eh... We'll get there eventually. I looked around for any kind of landmark besides trees. A clearing was ahead. With a rock pile. I yawned and absentmindedly concentrated on any chakra signatures. Just to be safe... About a year ago I learned to listen for heartbeats within a five meter radius, in case the enemy concealed their chakra. It wasn't that hard, just channel chakra into your ears. We were running past the rock pile now. I felt something in the air.

_Thump thump_

I faltered in my steps. What was that? I concentrated on hearing that heartbeat again.

_Thump thump_

It was slow. Almost fading, yet still alive. I pushed back the tears threatening to spill. I told myself I wouldn't cry anymore. I concentrated this time on a chakra signature. A very weak chakra signature was barely apparent under the rock pile. Someone buried alive? Nah, they would be dead by now. Deidara had noticed I wasn't moving now. He turned back to me. I concentrated on the heartbeat again.

_Thump thump_

Deidara was walking towards me. My eyes slowly opened. Someone was under the rocks, and I was going to save them. I owed that much to the world.

"Deidara-kun..." I whispered. Deidara froze. I was surprised my voice didn't crack. I hadn't spoken in a long time.

"Aiko-chan? What's wrong?" he asked. I gazed into his eyes... uh... eye.

"Get to the base, I'll catch up later," I said, keeping my voice even. He looked uncertain, but decided to let me go, knowing I could protect myself.

"Be careful," he muttered, before going off. I nodded and turned back to the rock pile. I summoned chakra to my hand and started to try and crush the boulder into smaller pieces. It worked for the most part. It wasn't as good as Tsundae's or that Haruno kunoichi's, but it was good enough. Now that the biggest boulder was broken down, I started to remove the other ones. Hopefully the person trapped would be alive when I got to him, or her.

As I said, I owed at least this life to the world. I might as well save a life while I'm still here.

* * *

Authors Notes: A virtual cookie for whoever guesses the mystery person that's buried!! For those who don't have me on Author Alert, Watch for the sequel! I'll let you know in the summary of the sequel that it's a sequel! This marks the end of Paper Flowers! I had fun writing it! And I absolutely love you guys/girls for reading/reviewing!


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